OK...I got up this morning....VHO Actinics came on...a pie shaped of glass from the right end brace of my 180 gallon tank was laying in my cap! I'm posting pictures.....Is this tank about to structurally fail???? H E L P !!!!!!!



http://www.saltbucket.com/d/12900-1/Tank3.jpg


http://www.saltbucket.com/d/12903-1/Tank4.jpg

http://www.saltbucket.com/d/12906-1/Tank5.jpg

http://www.saltbucket.com/d/12911-1/Tank6.jpg (http://www.saltbucket.com/d/12909-1/Tank6.jpg)

http://www.saltbucket.com/d/12912-1/Piece1.jpg

http://www.saltbucket.com/d/12917-1/Piece2.jpg (http://www.saltbucket.com/d/12915-1/Piece2.jpg)

PLEASE POST YOUR THOUGHTS!!!

Thanks,
Phil

I have no idea if it's about to fail, but I think I'd be very worried if I were you.

i would sell you my 190 sitting empty in my living room but I live in fl...

can you get a wider shot of the top of the tank and whole the piece left?

If you can see any stress cracks in the tank I would be VERY worried. If this is just part of the rim you might be OK. how close is your lighting and is it getting the glass hot?

i am going to ask for a pic of the full length of the brace too.

You have four pictures that aren't showing up for me. Can you correct them. They are probably the shots others are asking for.

dick

The first 3 pics aren't showing up. I'm no structural engineer, but first thing I would do is clean up that salt, grab another thick piece of glass and silicone it real good on top of the existing brace pieces to help hold things together until you know more or have a plan. Preferably the new piece woudl be same size as the existing brace piece to be siliconed over the whole piece.

Phil, any word?

I wonder if the salt finally wore away through the glass, but I've never heard of that happening before.

What's going on now???

rookie, you always have the coolest problems..lol

You'll find that you had a hairline fracture in the brace that you never new existed. Over time with normal vibration or external temp swings it possibly got worst, not to mention salt crystal structures building up within the cavity. Couple that with increased mass due to normal salt creep & you might have your answer.

As for worry factor, i wouldn't be. Tanks unless designed by dodgy bros, have decent tolerances. Id would do as the other suggested though, clean it, & prep it for a new cut piece the exacting length as the old.

Pay attention to the ends, being the back & front display sides, you want to get a decent amount of silicon to bond to these as ancor points. Judging by the pics though, it looks like it sits ontop of the outer rail anyways.

hey rookie ! what was the outcome?>